Category Archives: research

Some of the most interesting examples of Midlothian architecture and community are found at the Bilston Glen Treehouses. Originally a protest site, started in 2002 in reaction to a planned re-routing of the A701, it is now an ever-evolving activist community with visitors … Continue reading →

In this age of tensions between deficit reductions, benefit cuts and housing crisis, the value of our welfare state this last century is brought into focus. In a global context, is there anything more humane and charitable than a system that, at … Continue reading →

Lynsey Hanley echoes this last sentiment in her book ‘Estates, An Intimate History’: “Someone, who lives in a proper house in a proper town, sat on the floor of an office one day with a box of fancy Lego bricks … Continue reading →

‘Estates’ mentions Ebeneezer Howard, the godfather of Garden Cities and consequent new towns and modern suburbia. I’ve always been fascinated by his planning concepts and diagram the Three Magnets, weighing up the advantages of living in the ideal “town-country”…

Reading about housing estates, both from a consideration of the development of social housing: “Estates, An Intimate History” by Lynsey Hanley, 2007, Granta and from a 1949 guide by Stanley Gale: “Modern Housing Estates – A Practical Guide to their … Continue reading →